pope

As far as I know, not on that trip. But I wouldn't be shocked to hear that they eventually got it. These kids (probably now getting near 30 yrs old) are aces.

We did the S. Face via Snow Lake in roughly the same time. Which approach is faster? Anybody know for sure?

Actually, we were already on top. There was a gentleman patiently leading his two children up the ridge, and I think Tim asked him whether he could use the "Joe Brown hold".

This girls' club has been around for more than two decades. Might be worth checking out.

I did the W. Ridge for the first time on Thursday. Pretty nice climbing, and a helluva camp Wednesday night at Aasgard pass (my tent fly began to rip in the subfreezing winds). A pair simul-climbing behind us on the ridge included my partner's inspiration and alpine school instructor, Tim Wilson, and his equally entertaining partner, Armand. Following a reunion/summit celebration, I had to hike back to the pass, break camp, and hump the biggest pack I've carried in ten years down past Cochuck Lake and out (4 hours, finishing in failing light). I'm still hurting from that adventure.

Some former students of mine once drove to Yosemite for the weekend to attempt Midnight Lightning. Ain't no highway long enough, ain't no boulder small enough....

Get yourself a Magic Bus

How cool is that? Futuristic thinking frequently comes from the wisdom of a previous generation.

Costco? Fantastic! I purchased the three Beckey guides there for a total of $45.

Ouch! 6/14 at the novice level. Guess I've never been around a woman who needed to employ one of those naughty toys.

Huh? I can't play tennis with her? What are you implying?

Saw the film yesterday. Boy, that John AssCrack can sing!

I never go to Smith, but I can think of two: Zebra Seam and Lion's Chair (1st pitch).

In Off White's "situation", he's right that he can legally do whatever he wants (bolt a crack, attach a Metolius jug, etc.), since he owns the damn place. He only needs to convince himself that his modifications are superior to what Mother Nature has offered. In a more public setting, we share the resource. Whenever you place fixed gear, clean a flake, or (Heaven forbid) carve a hold, you are modfiying the rock in such a way that every subsequent party will be denied the chance for a "pioneering" experience. I think an underlying assumption is that the rock should dictate the climbing and the protection TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE. If establishing a route requires massive engineering that you know will be met with disapproval, maybe it's not worth doing. Maybe you aren't really interested in rock climbing but could find the kind of challenge you're seeking at McDonald's Playland. If the majority of climbers do not wish to encounter plastic holds and bolted cracks, this needs to be respected in a shared space. The notion that we need "different ethics for different situations" is born of arrogance, an arrogance that says, "Screw tradition, screw the wilderness experience, screw what everybody else thinks..I know what's best for MY route." Reading through this thread I'm reminded of an episode in Smith Rock ethics where some climber used a hammer to soften the edge of a sharp jug because his girlfriend had complained about it. In his mind, he must have been carefully weighing how HIS situation called for suspending traditional guidelines. He probably imagined himself wrestling in that ethical gray area described by Off White. Everybody else thought he was an a__hole.

What some people won't do to get attention.

I think I understand what's supposed to be funny about it. I find it neither especially offensive nor remotely funny. I can't see where the author of this (or related material) is especially talented or clever. The crap that's on network television at 8:00 p.m. these days reflects this lack of talent as well as a public demand for "humor" that dwells on boobies and bedroom talk. Again, it's not that I'm particularly offended, I'm just not inclined to appreciate lazy writing, and I'm not impressed by entertainers/comedians who find it necessary to attack our "sacred cows".

People going bouldering! HA HA HA HI-LARIOUS!!! It's people going ... going ... they're going bo ... they're bouldering ... it's funny because ... um ... ... bouldering? Yeah, sure....it's a hilarious spectacle, a parade of countercultural types trampling through the brush bearing what appear to be Oprah-sized feminine napkins on their backs. The devil or Liberace?

Hey, this Super Bowl party was rockin' until Janet Jackson showed me her vintage boobies.

I don't think your "Baby Smashers" post is so terrible, just terribly stupid, in poor taste, and generally not funny. That you find it amusing is something for which you may wish to seek therapy. Regarding Janet's boob flop, the point is that the Super Bowl is, in many homes, a family-oriented event. Football and professional sports in general are marketed toward kids, and kids deserve a childhood. Jantet showing her seasoned boobies served only perpetutate her dwindling career. Face it, she's another retread from the last decade. I find it amusing that anybody would want to see her naked, puzzling that anybody would defend her action. She's had every opportunity to show her flopping utters in an appropriate venue. I support her right to get naked for an adults-only medium; the half-time show at the Super Bowl isn't the right place. Stonehead, since she is obviously a source of arousal for you, I'm happy that you got to see her. I only hope that her action hasn't kindled in you a new desire for aged women that will find you lurking behind the hedge at the senior center.

I'm guessing these guys are your heroes:

Drinks? No man, I'm living one day at a time. That's all behind me now and...what, are you buyin'?

They are about as close as the grid-bolts, too! Yeah....like....maybe they're sisters!

Huh, I think I recall turning around on an otherwise perfect day because of an overwhelming desire for pancakes. Wise little voice in stomach Seriously though, that was a good list up there. I know a guy who would turn around on a perfectly good day because he thought there might be some girlies in the campground. In retrospect, he was WAY smarter than I ever realized.